Waking Up to Life

'Now I have something to wake up to"; how one woman plucked her life from the jaws of tragedy with help from Efrat.

Arutz Sheva Staff, 21/12/14 23:18

Baby (illustration)

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In a series of articles about the “Efrat” organization,Arutz Sheva presents a number of personal stories and anecdotes relating the group's life-saving activities. This week’s article centers on Sigal, a long-time bachelorette who had given up hope of ever becoming a wife and mother.

“I was single for many years. I never thought that at the age of 31, I would at last succeed in finding the man of my dreams and becoming his wife,” Sigal said.

An acquaintance had approached Sigal at a family event and had pointed out a young man interested in getting to know her. Sigal recalls being surprised at the off-the-cuff offer, but decided to take the leap and meet the man in question. He was a new Oleh, an immigrant to Israel from France, and had two children from a previous marriage still living abroad with their mother. They hit it off right away.

“When I found out I was pregnant, we immediately decided to marry,” Sigal recounted, but she saud that immediately after deciding to wed, she began to feel as if her new fiancée began to distance himself from her. “He began to tell me about the problems he was experiencing with his ex-wife, and about the money she was extorting from him.

“At a certain stage, he just up and left me. I found myself all alone. My world imploded around me; I went into crisis mode, panicking, as I didn't know how I could succeed in raising my unborn child on my own. I felt that life was being cruel to me, and I did not want to bring a child into such a cruel, torturous world.”

At the suggestion of a friend, Sigal decided to turn to the “Efrat” organization. She later proclaimed that doing so was one of the smartest steps she has taken in her life thus far.

“The ‘Efrat’ organization was the light at the end of the tunnel for me,” Sigal joyfully stated. “I slowly grew to understand what the true essence of life is. After years of living alone with a deep sense of disappointment and lack of meaning, I essentially learned that this pregnancy was a gift that would bestow newfound meaning unto my life.”

Sigal learned that she would no longer be alone. She would have someone to care for, someone to worry about, someone who would return love and would fill her life with meaning.

Throughout the pregnancy, an “Efrat” organization volunteer guided Sigal. She was attentive to her needs and took the time and care to encourage her at every given opportunity.

Today, Sigal is the mother to a three-month-old baby girl. After giving birth, Sigal received deliveries from “Efrat,” chock-full of all the new-baby necessities: a crib, stroller, baby bath, clothing, and more.